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FBHVC
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© Copyright 2024, John Bowman

Welcome to our FBHVC Page.

The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs represents our interests nationally, fighting for those who enjoy using their Classic Cars.

Robin Astle, our Club's FBHVC representative gives a monthly report on what's going on.

Robin Astle

March 2024

by Robin Astle.

From FBHVC Newsletter 2023 No. 6

DVLA by Ian Edmunds

Following the meeting back in June set up by Sir Greg Knight MP with Richard Holden MP, the Under Secretary of State responsible for the Agencies including DVLA, we were beginning to feel that perhaps at long last our concerns were finally being listened to. As noted in a joint statement agreed with the DVLA published in the last edition of FBHVC News this impression was supported by a rather more positive atmosphere in the last Historic Vehicle User Group (HVUG) in August.

I have no doubt you are all aware that on 25th July the Department for Transport (DfT) announced an independent review of the DVLA to be conducted by Janette Beinart of the Cabinet Office and expected to be published early in 2024. In correspondence sent to stakeholders including the FBHVC it was stated that the objective of the review was to assess the performance of the DVLA in four areas. These are:

  • DVLA’s capability and capacity to deliver its objectives.
  • The effectiveness of the DVLA’s current governance structure and its Board.
  • The extent to which the DVLA is accountable to its customers, DfT and Parliament.
  • How the DVLA considers and implements measures to maximise efficiency, current financial management and whether it provides excellent value for money.

I will return to the subject of this review later, but another significant Governmental event took place in mid-October. The All- Party Parliamentary Historic Vehicles Group (APPHVG) hosts an annual dinner within the splendid Parliamentary Estate at Westminster and this year I was privileged to be invited. Sir Greg as Chairman of the APPHVG persuaded Mark Harper MP, Secretary of State for Transport, to attend and afterwards made a speech in which I personally heard him say that the ‘steer’ he had given the DVLA was to be more flexible in decisions around the registration of historic vehicles. In addition, our Chairman, David Whale, had a few private words with Mr Harper and to hand him a brief letter outlining our concerns.

About a week later David visited DfT headquarters at Great Minster House, London to present the FBHVC input to the Beinart enquiry. This took place a little later than originally planned as the Deputy Director of DfT responsible for Public Inquiries wished to meet the Federation Chairman and to hear his views first hand. David, Lindsay and I had written a 12-page document explaining the concerns that the Federation had with DVLA’s current attitude to the registration of historic vehicles. This document concluded that the FBHVC considered that from the viewpoint of the historic vehicle community, the DVLA failed with respect to the first three of the objectives (see above) and that no comment was offered on the fourth. David verbally presented key points from this document and copies were left with the DfT. Before leaving Great Minster House David called to say he felt the meeting had been very productive and that our points were well understood.

To bring matters up to date (at the time of writing) I can report that the next HVUG meeting is scheduled for late November in Great Minster House to enable Richard Holden to attend in person. The DVLA has promised us details of a revised approach to the extremely vexed question of repairs and modifications. It seems likely that with the Under Secretary of State present, and very aware of our concerns, this will be positive news. David and I will attend this meeting and any significant outcomes reported asap.

To conclude, after a bleak period lasting far too long, I do now begin to feel more optimistic we may be able to return to the useful and productive relationship we once had with the DVLA.

Archives & Museums by Andy Bye

MUSEUMS

The Dunsfold Collection has recently joined the FBHVC as a museum member so as an introduction to this organisation here is the background to its formation.

For many Land Rover enthusiasts, the Dunsfold name will be well known but for the wider historic vehicle movement this is how it fits into the story and history of Land Rover. Dunsfold is a small village in Surrey UK, but it became well known because of one man. It was here that in 1968 the late Brian Bashall started a small country garage and because of his interest in all the vehicles from Solihull that it became known as Dunsfold Land Rovers. This would later change to simply DLR. During the 1960’s there was not much interest in the heritage or history of old Land Rovers but despite this Brian started collecting rare and unusual versions of the Land Rover. This was sometimes done with inside help from some of the few people at the Rover company who felt there was a need to save some of these unique vehicles which might otherwise have been broken up and sold for scrap.

Brian’s son Philip worked alongside him eventually taking over the business after Brian’s death. Philip was equally, or maybe even more, enthusiastic about saving these special Land Rovers and became a well-respected expert on the subject, always willing to share his knowledge on both the historical and technical aspects of Land Rovers with enthusiasts.

DLR became one of the first and best places to call for Land Rover repairs or for the supply of spare parts, particularly for Series Ones, military vehicles, or other unusual Land Rovers.

All this time, the vehicle collection continued to grow but storage problems meant that they were tucked away in different locations around the area. Because of this it was not easy to view these vehicles, so a few Dunsfold Open Weekends were held, and these became very popular, attracting many visitors. However, it was a lot of work to get all the Land Rovers out of storage, clean them and get them together lined up in a nearby field.

Philip always had the wish that all these special vehicles, together with a huge archive of drawings, models, books, badges, and advertising material should be safeguarded for the future.

A major step towards this was in 2014 when the Dunsfold Collection became protected by becoming a registered charity, looked after by a board of trustees and with a group called the “Friends of Dunsfold Collection” who financially supported the collection.

More recently, around 2020, Philip Bashall felt the time was right to close DLR as a working garage and parts supplier to devote his time to developing his dream of securing the future of the collection for the benefit of all enthusiasts. Of course, the closure of DLR was a sad time for all the customers from around the world who had used its services for so many years but what was to follow would be exciting to Land Rover enthusiasts.

With the help and support of a number of people, Philip transformed the garage buildings into a permanent Land Rover Museum. After a couple of years of hard work there was, on Sunday 11th June 2023, a grand official opening. This was for specially invited guests who had either worked on the project or supported it by subscribing to the Friends of Dunsfold Collection. On a sunny summer’s day, about 120 enthusiasts gathered for their first viewing of the new museum.

Attendees were amazed and delighted to see the transformation from an oily workshop into a clean and bright museum full of all sorts of Land Rover history. About 25 vehicles were fitted into the building together with many display cabinets around the walls containing all sorts of interesting items, from the smallest pin badge to sectioned engines and gearboxes.

Looking at this large display it must remembered that there are still another 100 special Land Rovers in store at other places with the plan to rotate the vehicles around so that different Land Rovers can be seen on display at different times making a repeat visit a must!

Like many small transport related museums, the Dunsfold Collection does not have the resources to open on a daily basis, but they will be organising open days as well as offering special tours for pre-arranged groups and this would make an interesting day out for any group.

For more information about the Dunsfold Collection have a look at their website:

www.dunsfoldcollection.co.uk.

Research by Dr. Huw C. Davies

At the recent AGM, I outlined my thinking for the Federation’s next major survey. Many of you will be aware of previous surveys and the impact they have on both our understanding of the needs of the historic vehicle movement and also its contribution to and effects upon society.

I mentioned that it’s my ambition to keep the survey relevant in a changing world. That’s not to say that the survey will change per se, but that we will need to be aware of what the historic vehicle community requires, how the landscape in which we exist is changing, and to examine critically what we intend to deliver and how we deliver it. Indeed, even if nothing changes with the survey as a result of this critical evaluation we will be proceeding with additional confidence.

Affiliated clubs will play a key role in the planning process, and I was greatly encouraged by the questions and comments that followed my presentation as indicators of a desire to do so. As you might expect, the work is resource intensive and will need appropriate prioritisation of content and stakeholder engagement.

From the AGM, the ideas that I will take forward for consideration include:

1. Framing the survey to consider both the current and future position of the historic vehicle sector in terms of its social and economic contribution.

Within the survey there is the opportunity to pose questions relating to future aspirations of owners, sectors, etc. both in the short and longer term. Indeed, the previous survey touched upon this, but actively considering how this is managed and what is delivered is something that will be explored. Further, the rolling aspect of dispensations (like the 40-year historic vehicle classification) enables a form of forecasting to be included as an output. Vehicles that are to yet reach their 40-year threshold are already in the system and so it’s possible, to a certain degree, to forecast the growth of the historic vehicle sector (i.e. some vehicles may be scrapped, but the remainder would become registered as historic).

2. The framing of the survey to consider both road going and non-road going historic vehicles.

To track the social and economic impact of sectors that are possibly underrepresented at present is indeed one of the extensions to the survey that should be considered. The caveat, as mentioned previously, is resource and the attendant prioritisation. There may be an opportunity to collaborate with groups already active in these sectors. A detailed exploration of comparable surveys undertaken by other sector organisations in other international markets would provide this much needed insight.

A further concern raised at the AGM, and which I found interesting as I have experienced this myself, is the quality of spare parts. My remit as an academic in an engineering school includes teaching design based on the concept of ‘Total Design’ as developed by Stuart Pugh (1929-1993). Integral to this is the consideration of quality of design and quality of conformance – the former relates to how the product is designed and the latter the process of manufacture and assembly. These drive the success of a product in the marketplace. Products that do not meet a customer’s expectation of quality in relation to their investment in that product, that is they provide a poor benefit to cost ratio, fall by the wayside to be replaced by those that do – at least that is the theory.

This very nearly happened at Jaguar. I recall reading ‘The Will to Win’, the biography of former chairman Sir John Egan, who observed that Jaguar had challenges with quality of conformance – with 6 out of 10 quality problems imported due to substandard components from suppliers, i.e. a quality of conformance issue, and one that fortunately Sir John was able to correct – and Jaguar is still with us.

For the next FBHVC survey we can certainly consider how to better measure customer expectations of quality by building on existing questions that explore expectation or willingness of customers to invest (e.g. for key products) on maintaining their historic vehicle(s). I hope that this little missive is insightful regarding my ambitions for our next major survey. Please feel free to contact me with your questions or ideas on this subject using research@fbhvc.co.uk.

 

FBHVC Newsletter

Check out a copy of the latest FBHVC Newsletter in the FBHVC Newsletter Archive